Infrared and Raman screening of seized novel psychoactive substances: a large scale study of >200 samples.

The potential of IR absorption and Raman spectroscopy for rapid identification of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) has been tested using a set of 221 unsorted seized samples suspected of containing NPS. Both IR and Raman spectra showed large variation between the different sub-classifications of NPS and smaller, but still distinguishable, differences between closely related compounds within the same class. In initial tests, screening the samples using spectral searching against a limited reference library allowed only 41% of the samples to be fully identified. The limiting factor in the identification was the large number of active compounds in the seized samples for which no reference vibrational data were available in the libraries rather than poor spectral quality. Therefore, when 33 of these compounds were independently identified by NMR and mass spectrometry and their spectra used to extend the libraries, the percentage of samples identified by IR and Raman screening alone increased to 76%, with only 7% of samples having no identifiable constituents. This study, which is the largest of its type ever carried out, therefore demonstrates that this approach of detecting non-matching samples and then identifying them using standard analytical methods has considerable potential in NPS screening since it allows rapid identification of the constituents of the majority of street quality samples. Only one complete feedback cycle was carried out in this study but there is clearly the potential to carry out continuous identification/updating when this system is used in operational settings.

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy of novel psychoactive substances using polymer-stabilized Ag nanoparticle aggregates.

A set of seized "legal high" samples and pure novel psychoactive substances have been examined by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy using polymer-stabilized Ag nanoparticle (Poly-SERS) films. The films both quenched fluorescence in bulk samples and allowed identification of µg quantities of drugs collected with wet swabs from contaminated surfaces.

Determination of hydrogen peroxide concentration using a handheld Raman spectrometer: Detection of an explosives precursor.

It has been shown that a handheld Raman spectrometer can be used to determine hydrogen peroxide concentration in aqueous solutions in seconds. To allow quantitative analysis, the aqueous peroxide samples were mixed 50/50 (v/v) with a 4mol/dm(3) sodium perchlorate solution which acted as the internal standard. Standard calibration using relative peak heights of the strongest perchlorate (932cm(-1)) and peroxide bands (876cm(-1)) gave an average error of 1.43% for samples in the range 5-30% peroxide. PLS regression of the same data set gave an average error of 0.98%. In addition, the concentrations of the samples were estimated by searching spectra against a library of standard spectra prepared using the same range of peroxide concentrations at 5% increments and with the same perchlorate internal standard. It was found that the library searching method classified all the test samples correctly, matching either the spectra of the same concentration, if they were present, or matching to the closest concentration if an exact match was not possible. This method thus provides a very rapid technique to allow determination of hydrogen peroxide concentrations in the field, for example at suspected improvised explosives manufacturing sites, without complex calibration procedures.